A crowd watched students prepare for the annual Labor Day weekend event and cheered as 16-year-old Thompson was whipped around by the bronc.

He almost “covered his ride” but came up just short of 8 seconds. It was an impressive attempt he later topped by holding tight for the coveted time during the senior bull riding event.

Leah Thorn, a house mother in one of Cal Farley’s group homes, held her breath and clenched her fists as she nervously watched Thompson’s wild ride from the stands.

“I do get a little scared when I see them get on the broncs,” Thorn said, laughing a little at herself, “but we’re here to support them in whatever they want to do.”

The 68th annual Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch Rodeo is scheduled Saturday and Sunday, arguably the two biggest days of the year at the school for at-risk children 36 miles northwest of Amarillo. Every year, 8,000 to 10,000 people attend the event.

Even the dress rehearsal was buzzing with excitement.

Thorn, a house mother for 10 years, has seen first-hand the positive effects participating in the rodeo can have on a student.

“Sometimes you have kids and they come and they struggle with being at the Ranch. You know, it’s not home ... and they struggle with school and stuff,” she said. “But sometimes if they can get into something like rodeo and they’re good at it and they excel in it, it just seems like everything else kind of gets in place.”

Some of the children who come to Cal Farley’s have never played sports before, Thorn said. Some are from the city and have never laid eyes on a living, breathing horse, much less ridden one.

However, after observing for a while and going through the rodeo school, Thorn said sometimes it’s the most unlikely students who want to participate.

“It takes dedication, and they get bumps and bruises,” she said. “There’s the danger and the fear factor, but they just continue to get out there and do their best.”

During rodeo weekend, all the residents at Cal Farley’s can be found at the arena, either participating in an event, working, playing in the band or cheering on their friends from the stands.

“It’s just a brotherhood of kids cheering each other on,” Thorn said.

Jennifer Harker, the communications manager at Cal Farley’s, said there are 254 students at Boys Ranch and 99 of them are participating in the rodeo.

Each student can participate in up to three events, said Mike Pacino, administrator of campus operations.

“A lot of these kids ... they practice all year long,” Pacino said. “For the rodeo, we practice from the time school is out all the way until now, the full dress rehearsal and last practice.”

Tickets to the rodeo are $10 and include a barbecue meal. Children ages 6 and younger get in free.

“Having that many people come out, it contributes to our fundraising success, but what it does for our kids, it’s invaluable,” she said. “These kids begin to realize how many people believe in them and how many people came out just for them. It’s a very emotional event for the kids.”